[Question #8597] HSV-1 from Kissing
 |
42 months ago
|
I am wondering about the risk of an encounter last night. I (a man) engaged in deep kissing with two men, for several minutes. We also engaged in body/genital rubbing/touching their bodies, but with underwear on. Then I masturbated myself with no additional touching of them. My questions are:
1. What do you think is the risk of acquiring HSV-1 orally from this encounter? I have never had a cold sore and did have a negative test several months ago. The men are of unknown status, white and in their 30s.
2. Is there any risk for any other STDs from this encounter?
 |
Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
42 months ago
|
There is no risk of an STD at this encounter, none. Good job being so careful
In terms of the kissing: first, the IgG test for HSV 1 misses 30% of HSV 1 infections so you may or may not have HSV 1. But we know about half the population does. I would say at a single encounter, and no one had a cold sore, the risk is minimal. If you are going to contract HSV 1, symptoms would appear within 2-10 days.
Please let me know if this answers your question adequately.
Terri Warren]\
|
42 months ago
|
Thank you very much, a little follow-up:
1. When you say the risk is minimal, do you mean like 1%? 10%? 25%? I know it’s impossible to say for sure, just ballpark. I didn’t see any cold sores, but they had some facial hair so who knows. Later, they said they were HSV-1 neg, but who knows about that too. How would your estimate change if there was a cold sore?
2. What share of people with HSV-1 become symptomatic in the 2-10 day window? If I did not become symptomatic, would you recommend testing at 12 weeks?
|
Terri Warren, RN, Nurse Practitioner
42 months ago
|
1. When you say the risk is minimal, do you mean like 1%? 10%? 25%?
I know it’s impossible to say for sure, just ballpark. I didn’t see any
cold sores, but they had some facial hair so who knows. Later, they
said they were HSV-1 neg, but who knows about that too. How would your
estimate change if there was a cold sore?
If there was an active cold sore, I would say that the risk is far higher - maybe 50%? That's a wild guess. Without one? Maybe 5%?
2. What share of
people with HSV-1 become symptomatic in the 2-10 day window? If I did
not become symptomatic, would you recommend testing at 12 weeks?
I'm sorry, but we don't have that data. If you are using an IgG test, you could test at around 8 weeks, but the IgG test misses 30% of HSV 1 infections, compared to the western blot, which is the gold standard.
Terri
---